Nailing machine



March 27, 1951 Q J, BAQON ET AL 2,546,354

NAILING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March. 27, 1947 FIG.

FIG

INVENTOR cL//vro/v .z anc-0N i snm/.ez J KEA/r 8 9 5 3 MWI?? ATTORNEY March 27, 95 C, J, BAQQN ETAL 2,546,354

` NAILING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 27, 1947 INVENTORS amro/v J. AcaN 68 SAMUEL J. Kf/vr m f M975 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 27, 1951 UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE YNIIJING MACHINE A:'Glinton J ."Bacon, Los Angeles, and SamuelfJ.:Kent, Van'Nuys,v Calif.

vApplication March`27, 1947,"SerialNo. 737,510

6.-'Claims. ,1r

This .invention vrelates to machines for driving nails and has forV its general object to provide a nail driving lmachine which is automatic in operation in that nails are brought successively toa point where they are operated on by Vpower means for rapid and efficient driving of the-same.

Another object of the invention is to provide `a nailing Amachine whichis portable and embodies foot engaging'means whereby said machine is moved with 'facility' from'point to point for rapid driving of nails.

Another Vobject of the invention is toprovide a machine, as indicated, `having automatic means for moving nails successivelyfromanail Ahopper to a ,point beneath anai'l driving-element.

Another object o'ff'the invention is to Yprovide a machine which embodies aznovel combination-of nail hopper, nail guiding'means, and nail driving means arranged as a compact,.easily'handled maehineand 'designed for efficient operation.

Aiurther .object of vthe invention is toprovide afmachineof Zthe .character indicated in which the nailhopper is automaticallymoved to cause agitation .ofiits contents each time that *av nail is .driven to obviate interlockingof the nails in the hopper and .toloosen them for-'freepassage through the machine.

Our invention also has for its objects .to provide such means .thati-are-.positive in operation, convenient in use, easily .installed in a working position andeasilydisconnected therefrom, economicalfof manufacture, relatively simple, and of `general superiority and serviceability.

The invention valso comprises novel details `of construction and vnovel `combinations and arrangements of parts, which willmore fully appear in `the course f of the `v followingdescription. However, thedrawings merely/show ,andthe :following description:merely-describes one embodiment of the present invention,rwhich isgiven by way of illustration Yor kexample only.

'In the drawings, like referencecharacters.designate similar `parts in theseveral views.

Fig. 1 is :a longitudinal sectional viewfof'a nail driving fmachineembodying the present invention and showing extended condition.

IFig.`2is-a1similar View, partly in elevation, of` themachine in ynail driving position.

Fig. '3 is an-enlargedplansectional view taken on the line `3`3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a `cross-sectional view of the hopper asf Oni' the lined-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a'further enlargedy cross-sectional view as on the' line l5-"5 iofFig. -l.

Fig'. V6-is a fragmentaryvertical sectional view oil-the line 5--6ofFig- 1.

Fig. '7 is avperspective View of anescapement slideused for moving nails at one portionofthe'ir path through the machine.

Fig. -8 is a similar View of the body housing said slide.

The Ynailing machine which is illustratedin the drawings-comprises, generally, a body 10, fafna-il driver I I mounted and housed in the body,.com pressed air-actuated hammer means I2 also mounted and housed inthe body and above the driver, an upper extension i'3-.of1the=bodyftermi hating -in a handle I4 for controlling Jair iow through the machine, stirrupmeans "I5 hingedly connected to the body at the lower-endthereof for engagement by the footof the user to fhold the machine in operative position, arnail hopper I'I, means il connecting the hopperandfthe body for tiltingmovement` ofv the former Vduring #operation of the machine, escapement means I8 `rreceptive of nails from the hopper -for movement thereof transversely, means -I9 for guiding nails fromthe escapement to-al-positionto Ibe operated on by the driver, and ldetent means -20 for holding nails in said position until .moved therefrom by the driver.

The body I0 comprises -a Vbarrel `2-I #and l-a plunger 22 telesc'opically'movable therein'. 'The barrel is formed as an elongated tube fitted Zin its'lower end with a nose piece 23` formed with a central axial passage 24. In practicesaidnose piece is fitted for relative vertical adjustment in the barrel and can be adjusted with respectv to the driver, at the end of its stroke, to vary the set of nails being driven. -Embodied in the nose pieceand formed with an Yextension of 'the passage 24, there is provided an open-sided-spacer 25 for upwardly and outwardly directed 'guide plates 26 having at least their upper edges 521 arranged at an angle to slope downwardly toward the passage 214. The plates 26 are spaced to'acoommodate nails passing between them and the edges 2T are chamfered for the heads of said nails which, thereby, are suspended for sliding movement toward passage 24. A spacer rider 28 `i's provided between the plates 2B at the lower sloping edge thereof to serve as guiding means for nails of greater length than the height of plates 26.

The plunger 22 is tted for sliding movement in the barrel 2| and is formed 'of an upper extension 3!) which houses the hammer means I2, and a driver guide 3l. Thevdriver I I is integrally formed with a shank 32 designed-to move-in the passage 24, a flanged shoulder 33 supported by the driver guide 3|, and a head 34 engaged by the hammer means I2. Said latter means is generally conventional and comprises a suitable hammer 35 designed to be reciprocated and to engage the .driver head 34 and thereby cause the driver to drive a nail residing in passage 24. Accordingly, the plunger 22 is formed with suitable air passages for effecting the mentioned percussion-inducing reciprocation of the hammer, and said plunger is movable bodily downward in the barrel to eiect operative engagement of the hammer and the driver when the downward movement of the latter is arrested by the detent means 28 located across the passage 24.

The upper extension I3 comprises relatively adjustable tubular members 36 and 31 interconnected through the medium of a stuffing box 38. Said extension is formed with an air passage 39 for air from the handle I4 to the plunger 22. Said handle is also generally conventional, being mounted on the extension I3 and provided with an air inlet 48 and an air iiow control trigger 4I arranged to actuate a valve l2 embodied in the handle and arranged across the now passages therein. By vbearing down bodily on the handle to telescopically move the plunger 22 to bring the hammer 35 and driver II into operative engagement, and actuating the trigger 4I, the air will cause percussive movement of the hammer and resultant driving movement of the driver. It is evident that an electrically operated hammer will perform in a similar manner. The hammer illustrated may be of any conventional reciprocating type.

The stirrup means E5 consists of a plate 43 secured to the barrel 2l at its lower end, a stirrup 44 designed to receive the toe end of a foot, and a hinge i5 therebetween. The means I5 serves to provide tool locating and holding means of great convenienceand eiciency, the pivot or hinge 45 allowing for relative angular positioning o the tool so that nails can be driven at a desired angle with respect to a surface 46.

The nail hopper I6, as shown, comprises a pair of similar but opposite body parts 4-1 arranged side by side to form a body having a bottom 48 and upstanding circumscribing walls 49. The bottom 48 is formed with downwardly sloped opposite nail guiding portions 56 whichy dene a slot 5I extending from an intermediate point of the hopper body to the forward or discharge end thereof. The body sections 61 are each provided with a wall 52 and said walls are contiguous from the slot 5I to the rear of the hopper central wall which serves to divide the mass or nails in the hopper during tilting thereof and thereby agitate them to loosen them against compacting. For this purpose, also, one or more pins 53 are nxed to the bottom i8 and stand across the movement path of the nails to further divide them.

An encompassing band 54 holds the body sections 41 in assembly, the front wall 55 thereof being formed with a recess 56 where said wall approaches the slot 5i to provide passage for the heads of nails suspended in the slot and moving toward the escapement means i8.

rEhe hopper is provided with a cover 51 which comprises a relatively stationary part 56 and a hinged part 59. The latter can be lifted to provide access to the interior of the hopper.

The means il comprises a pair of structural members 68 arranged longitudinally of the hopper and pivotally connected at 6I to the escapement means I8. Said members 60 each includes an extension 62 beyond the pivots 6I and one of said extensions bears a cam 63 designed to actuate said escapement means I8. An adjustable stop collar 64 is mounted on the plunger 22, and a pair of links 65 connect the extensions 62 and the stop collar.

It will be evident from the foregoing that for each up and down movement of the plunger in the barrel, the hopper will be tilted between the lowered and raised positions of Figs. 1 and 2; that nails in the hopper will be amply agitated by such movement of the hopper; and that nails nding themselves suspended by their heads in slot 5I will be slid into escapement means I8.

Said escapement means I8 comprises a block or body 66 which is formed with a transverse slideway 61 and with a downwardly sloping portion 68. The latter is bifurcated by a slot 69 that is in alignment with the slot 5I of the hopper so as to receive nails from said hopper as the latter is upwardly tilted. The slope of the portion 68 is such that nails, suspended by their heads, will readily slide toward the slideway 61.

A slide o1` escapement 10 is arranged in the slideway. A spring 1I normally holds the slide retracted against the cam 63, as best seen in Fig. 6, to bring a recess 12 in the slide into alignment with the slot 69 so that the slide 15 may receive a nail sliding from the portion 68 into the recess 12. The upper face 13 of the slide is so angularly sloped that a nail in the recess will seek to slide therefrom.

During the mentioned nail driving movement of the plunger 22 and the upward tilting of the hopper, the cam 63 will move to project the slide 10 against the pull of spring 1I to transport the nail in recess 12 to a point out of alignment with the body slot 69. The slide 10 is relieved at 14 so as not to disturb the nails in slot 69 during the latter movement of the slide and the body is provided with an offset through opening 15 through which the nail, sliding oir the slide face 13, passes into the means I9. Upon upward movement of the plunger, the cam 63 will release the slide 1U and the spring 1I will act to retract said slide to its initial position to receive another nail.

The cam 63 and slide 10 are so related that as plunger I2 starts downward, the lower end of the driver shank 32 will have Ipassed the lowermost point of the edges 21 of guide plates 26 before a nail is released to fall through opening 15.

'Ihe means I9 comprises a tube 16 aligned with the opening 15 and the mentioned guide plate 26, a nail dropping through the tube and sliding down between the plates to come to rest against the side of the driver shank 32, as shown in Fig. 2. Upon upward movement of said shank, the nail will fall into the passage 24 and assume a Iposition suspended by the detent means 28.

Said detent means consists of a pair of opposed bearing balls 11, each backed by a resilient and compressible block 18 retained by plugs 19 and urging said balls toward each Iother against shoulders formed in plates 26. The normal space between the balls 11 is large enough to permit the body of the nail to pass therethrough, but said balls will serve as a separable support for the nail head as the driver encounters the same to spring the ball and drive the nail.

It will be noted that the nail that is driven by the driver is one that had been released prior to the nail released during the operative downward movement of the driver, and that upon upward retraction of said-driver, the detent means is empty and, therefore, receptive of the nail resting against the shank of the driver, as above stated. Thus, each time a nail is driven, another nail is released and ready to assume its position in the detent means to be, in turn, driven.

While we have illustrated and described what we now regard as the preferred embodiment of our invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modifications Without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. We, therefore, do not wish to restrict ourselves to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but desire to avail ourselves of all modications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims. Y

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. In a nailing machine, a nail-driving unit comprising a stationary part and a relatively movable part, a nail hopper carried by the stationary part, means mechanically interconnecting the relatively movable part and the hopper whereby movement of said latter part elects movement of the hopper between a raised and a lowered position, means for receiving nails from the hopper While the same is raised and for guiding nails to the stationary part of the nail-driving unit, an escapement embodied in the latter means for successively releasing nails for movement to said stationary part, and means carried by the interconnecting means for operating the escapement.

2. In a nailing machine, means for driving a nail including a projectible nail-driving element and means for holding a nail in Iposition to be driven by said element upon projection thereof, a nail hopper operatively connected to the driving means and movable thereby between a raised and a lowered position, said hopper assuming a raised position during nail-driving movement of the driving element and thereby discharging nails therefrom, means for receiving the nails thus discharged, and means operatively connected with the driving means for releasing a nail from the receiving means whereby the same is adapted to fall against and be intercepted by the nail-driving element while the same is driving the nail held in the holding means.

3. In a nailing machine, means for driving a nail including a projectible nail-driving element and means for holding a nail in position to be driven by said element upon projection thereof.

a nail hopper operatively connected to the driving means and movable thereby between a raised and a lowered position, said hopper assuming a raised position during nail-driving movement of the driving element and thereby discharging nails therefrom, means for receiving the nails thus discharged, and means operatively connected with the driving means for releasing a nail from the receiving means whereby the same is adapted to fall against and be intercepted by the nail-driving element while the same is driving the nail held in the holding means, said intercepted nail, upon retraction of the Adriving element falling into the nail-holding means to replace the nail that had been driven,

4. In a nailing machine, means for driving a nail including a projectible nail-driving element and means for guiding a nail to a position to be driven by said element upon projection thereof, a nail hopper operatively connected to the driving means and movable thereby between a raised and a lowered position, said hopper assuming a raised position during nail-driving movement of the driving element and thereby discharging nails therefrom, means for receiving the nails thus discharged, and means operatively connected with the driving means for releasing a nail from the receiving means whereby the 'same is adapted to fall against and be intercepted by the nail-driving element while the samev is driving a nail.

5. In a nailing machine, means for driving a nail including a projectible nail-driving element and means for guiding a nail to a position to be driven by said element upon projection thereof, a nail hopper operatively connected to the driving means and movable thereby between a raised and a lowered position, said hopper assuming a raised position during nail-driving movement of the driving element and thereby discharging nails therefrom, means for receiving the nails thus discharged, and means operatively connected with the driving means for releasing a nail from the receiving means whereby the same is adapted to fall against and be intercepted by the nail-driving element while the same is driving a nail, said intercepted nail, upon retraction of the driving element, falling into position to be driven and replacing the nail that had been driven.

6. In a nailing machine, a nail-driving unit comprising a stationary part and a relatively movable part, nail-receiving means carried by the stationary part including an escapement for successively releasing nails therefrom, means connected to and movable by the movable part and engaged with the escapement to operate the same each time that the movable part is moved toward the stationary part to effect the mentioned successive release of nails, and means for guiding such released nails to the stationary part and to a position operatively associated with the movable part.

CLINTON J. BACON. SAMUEL J. KENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNrrED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 392,963 McCornack Nov. 13, 1888 795,912 Hebert Aug. 1, 1905 854,180 Scheve May 21, 1907 926,412 Hayssen June 29, 1909 1,074,800 King Oct. 7, 1913 1,226,907 Northrup May 22, 1917 1,618,367 Dick Feb. 22, 1927 1,980,967 Mooy Nov. 13, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,009 Great Britain May 7, 1894 

